Hello one and all! It is the Almighty A-Chan here with the next short story in Drabbles. Before I continue on, I would like to digress momentarily from the mainstream of this entry's symposium and thank the nine reviewers I had this past week!
They are: Kusabe Makabi, Lemurian-Girl, Herr Wozzeck, Niokh, peter, SF Kitty, Lao Who Mai, Shadow of Chaos, and finally Phoenix. I want to sincerely thank these people for complimenting me and giving useful and constructive criticism. It gives me a sort of warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Moving on to the real reason I am here, I am pleased to announce that I have here the next oneshot to be added to this file.
This story dives into the fantasies of a revered, yet wimpy, hero who does nothing but stab his enemies. It touches the anxiety and hardships of losing someone you love.
I hope that you enjoy the oneshot, "Haunted".
PARAMETERS
Topic: Hanging on to a lost loved one.
Genre: Romance/Angst.
Game: Fire Emblem 7: The Blazing Sword.
Time: In Castle Ostia right after Chapter 28: Valorous Roland when Eliwood kills Ninian with Durandal.
Rating: PG-13.
Length: 1,468 words. I know it's a little short.
Challenger: Herr Wozzeck
Special requirements: Write and angsty oneshot, focusing on Eliwood's thoughts about Ninian after she had been slayed by Roland's Legendary sword.
Time Limit: Until Thursday June 14th, 2006.
Completed In:
Tease: True love comes but once.
"Haunted"
The young man never took his love for granted. Instead, he took it with a grain of salt. What he had was what he had and he had been sure that it would stay that way for the rest of his existence.
A solemn Eliwood sat under a tree in the garden of the mighty Castle Ostia. His face was weary and darkish rings circled his eyes, signaling an apparent lack of sleep. His flame red hair was disheveled and sticking up in odd places, showing that he had taken no precaution to comb it that morning. The red-and-white checkered cloth he was sitting on clashed furiously with the grass beneath and around him- much like a sword and a dragon.
Dragon and sword.
He shivered softly as those two words stabbed through his heart, making him suddenly feel like one of the many brigands he had slain through the hard age of combat. He had branded himself a criminal; one who kills.
Not that you've never killed before. He thought morbidly. He had seen battles. He had been in the heart of war. He had felt the heartache of casualties…
"No…" the man whispered to himself. "That's not true. This time I killed an innocent woman. A beautiful woman. The woman I loved." He kneaded the picnic cloth he sat on between his fingers eagerly.
The affection that Ninian and Eliwood had for each other was short lived. Regardless, it was as potent as any love potion one would find in an apothecary.
There will never be any like her… he thought sadly as he looked up to the sky, almost as if he were looking her face in the clouds.
He had loved her hair. It was the color of the sky, early in the morning. It had always smelled of fresh flowers and honey. He loved grasping the strands in his fingers and holding them close to his face. This always caused her to blush wildly and he would laugh.
He had loved the deep red color of her eyes. They always darted around, holding a look of curiosity and awe frozen on her face. She was always asking him about this and that and what his opinion on a certain topic was.
But what he loved most about her was her dancing. She had the ability to twirl in and out, around and about, making your eyes run dizzy, yet still yearning to watch as she delivered even more intricate moves. He had loved the way her hips had swayed to her little brother's music and her hair would float behind her, creating a little dance of its own.
"I'll never see her again…"
He paused his thoughts and sighed heavily.
"She was a dragon…" he said, his voice being lifted off by the wind and carried elsewhere. He envisioned the mighty green beast he had slaughtered. Her scales gleamed in the sunlight and had stood proudly on her hind legs, roaring with enough might to scare off Hawkeye and send him running back home.
"That's probably what she wanted to tell me that night…" he continued, not being able to hold in a small laugh. "It was also the night I confessed to her." He observed in a otherworldly tone.
The campsite of Eliwood's motley crew was quiet. Ninian stood outside of her tent iin the encampment, finding it hard to let sleep overcome her. She was a little chilly, dressed in only her nightgown and a small robe, but she preferred the nippy air to Serra's snoring. She couldn't stop thinking about him- his eyes, his way of talking, the special smile that he'd flash only for her… it made her shiver with excitement and sigh with content.
Eliwood is such a wonderful man… she thought as she looked up at the stars twinkling on the mass of midnight blue.
"Ninian!" A voice rang out from behind her. Turning around, she met the face of the man she had been thinking of only moments before.
"Ah… Lord Eliwood." She replied, giving him a bright, but sleepy smile.
"I finally caught up with you." He said in a rather breathy voice. Evidently he had been running about the entire area looking for her. She let out a small yawn and glanced around again, pulling her robe a bit tighter around her. Eliwood shot her a worried glance and placed a hand delicately on her shoulder.
"What's wrong Ninian? Why the long face?"
"Please do not worry on my account." She began to tell him. Why was he so encompassed on her at the moment anyway? There wasn't anything special about her, at least that he knew of. "I… I am not worthy-" She stopped and looked at the ground, taking in a breath.
"What I'm trying to say is that I am not even worthy to stand in your sight, Lord Eliwood." She lifted her gaze up to rest on his face, which showed a great amount of puzzlement.
"Wha--" he began but was cut off by the motion of her hand. She pushed it back to its previous position and clasped the small appendage with her other hand.
"I have been deceiving you." Eliwood nodded his head slowly.
"Yes, as you were saying awhile back." He took a pause and ran a hand thorugh his hair. "So, you have been keeping a secret form all of us?" Ninian nodded soflty.
"Yes…"
"But… you can't tell me what it is. Am I right?" The young woman nodded again.
"Yes…" Eliwood nodded back at her in understanding.
"Very well."
"What…?" Ninian said giving him an odd look, one of confusion and fascination. What had he meant by that? Eliwood gave a light shrug of his shoulders.
"If it is too hard for you to talk about, I will not force you. Just… if you ever feel able, tell me then." The blue-haired maiden gave him a worried glance and then shifted her face towards the ground.
"But…I have been false… I have lied to you and the others. Do you not care?" Eliwood stepped closer to her placing one hand on her shoulder and using the other to tilt her chin towards him. He gazed into her blood red eyes and almost melted.
"Ninian, I love you." Her eyes widened and she had to restrained herself form jumping onto him and strangling him into binding hug.
"That will not change, no matter what may come."
"Lord Eliwood…" She whispered as he pulled her into a tight hug. She rested her head on his chest as he rested his chin on her hair.
"I don't care what your secret is—I will still feel the same." He pushed her away from his chest to see that she was crying softly. He wiped away a tear and sighed.
"If something troubles you, let me sweep it away. Please don't cry anymore." Ninian let go of him and used the collar of her robe to wipe her face.
"Remember, I would do anything to see you smile again, so chin up!" She gave a small laugh and a set a small smile on her face. He locked eyes with her again.
"You are the first woman I have ever felt this way about, Ninian…"
"Lord Eliwood…" She finally replied, her voice sounding a little squeaky from crying. "I don't know what--" She paused and latched onto him in another hug.
"Lord Eliwood… Lord Eliwood…"
Lost in his reverie, he had begun to tear up himself. What of those promises now? He had let not only her down, but himself in a way too. He made an attempt to wipe away his tears, but they kept flowing freely down his face.
She was the first woman he had ever reached out to, from the moment that he saved her from the Black Fang in the days of Lyndis' Legion, to the time they rescued her from the dread isle.
She had fought along side of them; invigorating their bodies with her lively dances and making them want to live again!
Ninian had given more to Eliwood than anyone else had ever given him before, and ever will. She had defended him, danced for him, sat with him, ate with him and talked with him. She had loved him and he had loved her. He still loved her, and would for the rest of his life.
He buried his head into his hands scratching at the fiery red mass of hair he had and crying his soul out. No one would ever be able to replace her in his heart.
"I had true love, something that is so rare…" he said through tears, choking up on his frequent sobs. "And I let it slip away…"
Well… that's the end. If you ask me, I think it sucks. I had a limited time to work on this, but in the end, it all boils down to one thing- I can't write angst. I'm horrible at it. But at least I tried…
If you could, please drop off a review and/or a challenge. I love your feedback and I need some writing material. For the next one, I'm thinking either something with Nino from FE7 or Innes form FE8. Drop off any ideas please!
